Wednesday, September 15, 2010
No. 10 Week no. 37
Bj Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research
Allégaten 55, 5007 Bergen
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
What’s cooking?
Atlantic variability and the BCCR synthesis period
This week Odd Helge assisted by colleagues Mats, Helge and Lingling published a very interesting paper in
Nature Geoscience. My congratulations! See also in-depth coverage on our website. The paper uses a 600
year simulation with BCM version 2 forced with natural and man made forcings and focuses on the impact of
these forcings on North Atlantic sea surface temperatures and circulation. The results show a good
correspondence with available syntheses of paleoclimate proxy data for the Northern Hemisphere over the
period. Most importantly the paper shows that much of structure in the variability is driven by external
forcing, i.e. that a combination of solar and volcanic forcing sets the timing of the ups-and downs in
temperature and concomitant variations in circulation strength. The dynamics are well explored and linked to
the impact on the phase and strength of the North Atlantic Oscillation and the wintertime westerlies.
This is an important paper, and the results of the simulation have already been shown to link well with the
new generation of paleoceanographic proxy data under development at the Bjerknes Centre. There are a
number of very intriguing studies based on this model-data intercomparison now underway through several
projects at the Centre. Another implication of the results deals with the possibilities of decadal and seasonal predictions in our region,
which will become an important line of enquiry here in the coming years.
Photo:Terje Heiestad Millimeterpress
The Bjerknes Centre Centre of Excellence (CoE) has 2+ years to go. I plan to end the CoE period with an international conference
highlighting in an international context the main results, opportunities and unresolved issues after the CoE period. To do this properly,
the main emphasis of the CoE activities during the remaining phase will be on providing syntheses efforts and key papers originating
from the CoE activities. Hence it is time to think about what you can provide into such syntheses. I welcome suggestions!
The CoE Research Groups have been somewhat dormant lately due to the time it takes to get the organisation around the new longterm funding in place. I will in the near future hold a meeting for the RG leaders and discuss the CoE objectives and plans for the
remaining synthesis period.
Eystein
10th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PALEOCEANOGRAPHY
August 29 – September 3rd 2010
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
Every third year the worldwide society of paleoceanographers meet at changing venues throughout the
world for the International Conference on Paleoceanography. This year we met in La Jolla, enjoying a
sunny and, at least for Bergen people, comfortable warm setting. The Bjerknes Centre was represented by
Kikki, Ulysses, Kerim, Francesco, Andreas, Nil, Heidi, Amandine, Odd Helge and Bjørg.
Science wise it was a very good meeting, providing a state-of-the-art overview of paleoceanographic research ranging from
multidecadal to million year timescales and a broad range of proxy methods used and under development. The format of the meeting,
with one session of talks in the morning, posters after lunch and a keynote lecture in the evening, makes it an intense meeting, were
you really meet a lot of people and can get all the scientific input, without having to choose between overlapping sessions. At the same
time, the format also provides a less stressful environment than at other meetings and a rather relaxed atmosphere. Odd Helge also
gave his “once in a life time” ICP presentation on “External forcing as a metronome for Atlantic multidecadal variability”, and his
performance on stage was well worth the audience’s full attention.
In the evenings there were always familiar faces to be found at the local brewery. Organized social events included the initial Ice
Breaker and the mid way wine tasting or surfing lessons. Rumours say that there was plenty of wine to taste (but no further
information on the wines) and that surfing was great fun, even though none of the participants can go professional after their one
lecture. Of course there was also the conference dinner, a so-called "Beach Blanket Banquet". The traditional paleomusic event did
unfortunately not take place due to a lack of organization. A few of us ended the week kayaking with dolphins along the beach of La
Jolla – quite a surprising and nice experience.
All in all we had a good time, and are now looking forward to the ICP XI meeting in Barcelona in September 2013.
Bjørg Risebrobakken
Tip Bjerknes Times: charla.melander@uni.no
http://www.bjerknes.uib.no/pages.asp?kat=60&lang=1
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SINO-NORWEGIAN WORKSHOP - WORLD EXPO SHANGHAI
On September 9-10, Richard B and myself, together with Lasse Pettersson and Yongqi
Gao from the Nansen Center, took part in a Sino-Norwegian workshop at the World
EXPO in Shanghai. The workshop was organised by the Research Council of Norway
and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The objective was to bring Chinese and
Norwegian scientists together to prepare for the Sino-Norwegian NORKLIMA and
MILJØ2015 call due December 1st, with a budget of up to 45 mNOK (see
forskningsradet.no). Although the headline of the call includes the phrase “climate
change”, the call itself is very much limited to “environmental pollution”. The Bergen
involvement will therefore (likely) be fairly small. The Bergen contingent was quite
explicit stating the mismatch between the headline and the content of the call, and
Photo: Norwegian Research Council - Mari Solerød.
by that exclusion of a substantial ongoing Sino-Norwegian collaboration. There are,
however, reasons to believe that a follow-up call, perhaps in 2012, could have a
wider scope. In addition, it is also likely that the next call will include more than CAS on the Chinese side. CAS does not support the
Chinese Universities, for instance.
EXPO (“verdensutstillingen”) was an interesting experience: More than 300.000 visitors a day (some talked about 600.000), all
coming and leaving with busses (up to 10.000 busses a day), all lining up and slowly entering the outdoor security check in 30+
degrees and humidity close to that of liquid water, thereafter entering a field with (likely) several hundred pavilions, one for most of
the world´s countries and major organisations, each with extensive exhibitions, approaching the Beijing Summer Olympic Games in
2008 in size and budget. The visitors, almost exclusively Chinese, seemed particularly eager to get a stamp at the various pavilions,
securing a memory of their presence for coming generations.
After the Workshop, we joined the opening of the Chinese-Norwegian alumni network. The opening took place in an extraordinarily
beautiful, English style hotel in central Shanghai, named Peace Hotel. The Hotel was finished in 1929, and has been the center of jazz
in Shanghai ever since. In addition to the architectural atmosphere, the food was unusual tasty, even for Chinese standards. And to
keep the time line fully consistent, the average age of the jazz musicians responsible for the entertainment was close to the age of the
hotel, 80+ years.
Helge Drange
NORCLIM ANNUAL MEETING
The NorClim Project is in its final phase and will be terminated in March 2011. The project is large with a total budget of 60 mill Nok
distributed over 4 years. The consortium consists of 10 partners from Tromsø, Oslo and Bergen; it is coordinated by the BCCR, with
Helge Drange as project leader and Birgit Falch as administrative responsible.
The third Annual Meeting was held in Voss on September 2-3, with about 40 attendees from the partners. A central objective of
NorClim is to establish a Norwegian Earth System Model. This work has been materialised in NorESM, consisting of NCAR´s
Community Climate System Model (CCSM), but with our own (Mats´) ocean component, the Hamburg marine carbon cycle model
(HAMOCC) and advanced cloud and aerosol physics developed in Oslo. NorESM is currently being run to complete the global
climate simulations that will form a key part of the next IPCC report due 2013/14.
Another main objective of the project has been to provide climate impact researchers, authorities and the general public with detailed
atmospheric and oceanic projections for Norway during the 21st century, including projections for extreme events and assessment of
uncertainty. This activity is summarised in the report “Klima i Norge 2100” (available through a web search), issued by the Official
Norwegian Report “NOU-klimatilpasning”.
Helge Drange / Birgit Falch
CHECK OUT THE NORWEGIAN SCIENCE WEEK
The Norwegian Science Week (Forskningsdagene) this year will start with a huge festival
at Festplassen Friday the 24th of September and Saturday the 25th, with focus on
scientists’ tools. The Bjerknes Centre is participating with a research station and popular
lecture. While Friday is reserved for schools, everyone is welcome on Saturday. Bring
yourself, your children, your parents and check out the climate scientists research tools and methods, from small micro fossils to
advanced climate models (http://www.forskningsdagenebergen.com/?page_id=2098). Helge Drange will give a talk about the climate
scientists’ crystal bowl on Saturday 3:30 pm, Tent 1 (http://www.forskningsdagenebergen.com/?page_id=2388). The whole program: http://www.forskningsdagenebergen.com/. Tip Bjerknes Times: charla.melander@uni.no
http://www.bjerknes.uib.no/pages.asp?kat=60&lang=1
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THE PORTRAIT
Name: Bjørn Christian Kvisvik
Position: Forsker III (Researcher) / PhD student
How long have you worked at BCCR?
Since 2005. First as a Research Assistant and later as a Forsker III (Researcher).
Education:
Hovedfag (Masters) at the Department of Geography in Bergen with emphasis on MIS 4
and deglaciation in Rondane, Southern Norway.
Background:
I grew up in Isjorden in Romsdalen, moved to Oslo where I worked for a year before
starting my studies at NTNU in Trondheim. When I started on my master degree, I moved
to Bergen for a half year before heading for Svalbard (UNIS), and then back to Bergen again.
What is it you do exactly at work/what type of research?
My research consist mainly of three activities; field work, lab work and office. I analyse cores from proglacial lakes and look at how
the glaciers have behaved in the past. The lake sediments are analysed by a suit of methods including geochemical and magnetic
parameters, and can tell us a lot about how the climate changed at different times in the past.
Why climate research?
I did a lot of mountaineering when I was young and started asking myself questions about why the landscape looked as it did. The
landscape is of course heavily affected by changes in the climate and that brought me into climate research.
What extra curricular activities do you have?
I do some climbing and running even though most of my activities nowadays include changing diapers. My two oldest kids are now
capable of walking and to some extent climbing, so I generally enjoy just being out in nature.
Do you have a favourite song, band or artist?
I listen a lot to Frank Black these days, and I like a lot of rock music like the Clutch or Fu Manchu, but also more gentle rock like
Shaun Bartlett and “balcan” music like Goran Bregovic.
Your favourite food?
Chinese. But the worst food is along the main roads of Norway! I have eaten a lot of really bad food when I have travelled along E6
on fieldwork…. Think of a dry, white baguette with cheese…
The best and worst about Bergen?
The city with its size and structure is nice, while the focus on the car as the way of transportation in Bergen is bad! There should be
some visionary people among the politicians so we could have more decent alternatives like own bicycle lanes etc.
BJERKNES – GFI COLLOQUIUM
The Bjerknes - GFI colloquium, which takes place every Monday at 11:15 in the GFI East wing auditorium, is a weekly forum for the
presentation of research at BCCR and GFI. The seminar format has 45-minute talks with 15 minutes for questions. A few of these
weekly slots will be reserved for visitors like the invited lecturers, but the majority is meant for Bjerknes folk. The organizers are Elin
Chiche (elin@gfi.uib.no), Christophe Bernard (christoph.bernard@bjerknes.uib.no) and Bjørg Risebrobakken
(bjørg.risebrobakken@uni.no).
The next scheduled talks are:
September 20, 2010: 11:15-12:00, GFI east wing auditorium
Speaker: Dr. Jimmy Dudhia, NCAR, Boulder, Colorado USA
Title: The Physics of the “Weather Research & Forecasting” Model (Part I)
This talk will be part of the "WRF Lecture Series at the Bjerknes Centre" seminar from September 20-24
October 18, 2010: 11:15-12:00, GFI east wing auditorium
Speaker: Igor Esau, BCCR/NERSC
Title: Earth System Models: Research Tools or Expert Opinions?
November 8, 2010: 11:15-12:00, GFI east wing auditorium
Speaker: Sara de la Rosa, BCCR/GFI
Title: A perspective on the interannual variability of Arctic sea ice export into the East Greenland Current
More details about the Bjerknes – GFI Colloquium can be found here: http://www.bjerknes.uib.no/pages.asp?id=1792&kat=7&lang=2
Tip Bjerknes Times: charla.melander@uni.no
http://www.bjerknes.uib.no/pages.asp?kat=60&lang=1
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PHD THESIS TRIAL LECTURE
Speaker: Andreas Born
Title: Expected and simulated changes in the hydrological cycle in a warm climate
Time: Friday, 17 September at 13:15 Place: East wing Auditorium, Geophysical Institute
PUBLICATIONS
Michel Dos Santos Mesquita, Kevin Hodges, David E.
Atkinson, Jürgen Bader: Sea-ice anomalies in the Sea of
Okhotsk and the relationship with storm tracks in the
Northern Hemisphere during winter. Tellus, Online 7
September 2010, DOI: 10.1111/j.16000870.2010.00483.x.
Odd Helge Otterå, Mats Bentsen, Helge Drange and
Lingling Suo: External forcing as a metronome for
Atlantic multidecadal variability. Nature Geoscience
Online 12 September 2010, doi:10.1038/ngeo955.
Barbara Lang, Alan Bedford, Stephen J. Brooks, Richard T.
Jones, Nigel Richardson, H. John B. Birks and Jim D.
Marshall: Early-Holocene temperature variability inferred
from chironomid assemblages at Hawas Water, northwest
England. The Holocene, Volume 20, Number 6, pp. 943954, September 2010. Online May 26, 2010, doi:
10.1177/0959683610366157.
PRESENTATIONS
Helga Kleiven: What are natural climatic changes ? - what
cores from the ice cover on Greenland and Antarctica can
tell us and how important is really the influence of the
sun? Norwegian Petroleum Society, Norsk Oljemuseum,
Stavanger, 14 September 2010.
Jan Mangerud: Vulkansk aske over Norge - farlig for fly,
flott for geologer. Geologiens dag, Realfagsbygget, UiB,
Bergen, 11. september 2010.
Tore Furevik: Global oppvarming - kvifor hastar det med å
få på plass ein avtale? Foredrag, klimatoppmøte i skolen,
VilVite, Bergen, 10. september 2010.
Tore Furevik: Formidling i klimaforskninga - har etikken
drukna i skyttergravskrig og politisk aktivisme? Seminar i
forskningsetikk, Solstrand hotell, Os, 8. september 2010.
E. Ivanova, N. Chistyakova, E. Ovsepyan, Bjørg
Risebrobakken et.al: Biogeography of Foraminifera in
the Barents Sea during the last 16 ka: a response to
variations in the Atlantic Water input. FORAMS 2010,
Bern, Switzerland, 5-10 September 2010.
Bjørg Risebrobakken, Carin Andersson, Trond Dokken,
Lars Henrik Smedsrud, N. Chistyakova, E. I. Ivanova,
Eystein Jansen, and Matthias Moros: Distinguishing
early Holocene temperature changes caused by northward
oceanic heat advection from the oceanic temperature
response to changes in orbital forcing. 10th ICP, San
Diego, 2 September 2010.
E. Ivanova, I. Murdmaa, S. Semenov, M. Latif, W. Park,
Bjørg Risebrobakken et al.: Rapid Climate Changes in
the Barents Sea during the Holocene: Response to
Variations in the Atlantic Water Inflow and Atmospheric
Forcing. 10th ICP, San Diego, California, USA, 2
September 2010.
A. Kotilainen , L. Arppe, S. Dobosz , Eystein Jansen, K.
Kabel, J. Karhu, M. Kotilainen, A. Kuijpers, B. Lougheed
M. Meier, Matthias Moros, T. Neumann, C. Porsche, N.
Poulsen, Bjørg Risebrobakken et al.: Holocene saline
water inflow changes into the Baltic Sea, ecosystem
responses and future scenarios - INFLOW project. Poster,
10th ICP, San Diego, California, USA, 1 September 2010.
Atle Nesje: Holocene climate change in Scandinavia with
implications for hydrology and sediment transport.
Keynote lecture, SEDIMONT Summer School, Loen, 1
September 2010.
Idar Barstad: An extension of Smith's linear theory of
orographic precipitation. 14th conference on Mountain
Meteorology, Lake Tahoe, California, USA, 30 August
2010.
Camille Li, Trond M. Dokken, Kerim H Nisancioglu,
David S Battisti: The cryosphere's role in abrupt climate
events in the glacial North Atlantic. Poster presentation,
AGU Meeting of the Americas, Foz do Iguassu, Brazil, 12
August 2010.
BJERKNES IN THE NEWS
Ekstremvêr og global oppvarming
Bergens Tidende, 15.09.2010. Kronikk av Sigbjørn Grønås og
Nils Gunnar Kvamstø. (papir og nett).
http://www.bt.no/meninger/kronikk/Ekstremv%26ecirc%3Brog-global-oppvarming-1155979.html?xtor=AD-13
Vulkaner kan gi «drittvær» i Norge
Yr.no, 15.09.2010. Odd Helge Otterå
http://www.yr.no/nyheter/1.7290710
Sun and Volcanic Eruptions Pace North Atlantic Climate
Swings
Science Daily 14.09.2010. Odd Helge Otterå
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100913080827
.htm
Sol, vulkaner og klima
NRK Radio, Alltid nyheter 11.40, 13.09.2010. Intervju med
Odd Helge Otterå. (Kun direkte)
Hvor mye betyr sola og vulkanene?
Aftenbladet, 13.09.2010. Odd Helge Otterå
http://www.aftenbladet.no/energi/1259688/Hvor_mye_betyr_
sola_og_vulkanene.html
Tip Bjerknes Times: charla.melander@uni.no
North Atlantic Climate Regulated by Volcanic Eruptions
Softpedia, 13.09.2010. Odd Helge Otterå
http://news.softpedia.com/news/North-Atlantic-ClimateRegulated-by-Volcanic-Eruptions-156148.shtml
Vulkaner styrer temperaturen i Atlanteren
På Høyden, 13.09.2010. Odd Helge Otterå og Helge Drange
http://nyheter.uib.no/?modus=vis_nyhet&id=47062
The sun and volcanic eruptions pace North Atlantic
climate swings
AlfaGalileo, 13.09.2010. Odd Helge Otterå
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=84911&
CultureCode=en
Larerikt for «Klimatopper»
Bergensavisen, 11.09.2010. Tore Furevik (papir)
http://www.bjerknes.uib.no/filer/1628.pdf
Kystnæringskonferanse
Lofotposten, 09.09.2010.
http://www.lofotposten.no/lokale_nyheter/article5303515.ece
Tilsvarende sak: Nordlys 10.09.2010. (kun papir)
http://www.bjerknes.uib.no/pages.asp?kat=60&lang=1
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Vann på ville veier
På Høyden, 07.09.2010. Eivind Støren
http://nyheter.uib.no/?modus=vis_nyhet&id=47023
Det indre liv i klimapanelet
Morgenbladet , 03.09.2010. Aktuelt intervju med Eystein
Jansen (Nett og papir, ref. forside).
http://www.morgenbladet.no/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/2010
0903/OAKTUELT/709039917
http://www.bjerknes.uib.no/filer/1627.pdf
Når kommer syndefloden?
Klassekampen, 02.09.2010. Eivind Støren (Kronikk-kun
papir)
Hull i panelet
Dagens Næringsliv, 02.09.2010. (papir)
http://www.bjerknes.uib.no/filer/1626.pdf
POST@BJERKNES.UIB.NO
Unsure of who should be sent what?
Send an email for all registering of lectures, posters, final publications, meetings, and other tips to post@bjerknes.uib.no. These will
find their way to the right person.
MAKE YOUR MEDIA ACTIVITY COUNT!
Please remember to send an email about your media and outreach activity to Jill or via post@bjerknes.uib.no. If possible send us a
direct link to the article or program (or pdf file, mp3 file or the like). If the article is not published on-line you can login to A-tekst (a
digital news archive) via UB at: http://www.retriever-info.com/services/archive.html or you can buy a copy of the paper for only 12
NOK at: https://www.buyandread.com/mediaport/index.htm.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Workshop: WRF Lecture Series at the Bjerknes Centre
20-24 September 2010 (10-12 AM each day)
For more information, contact Michel Mesquita at michel.mesquita@uni.no
Registration: http://www.bjerknes.uib.no/admin/form.asp?fid=105
Bergen Geophysical Society (BGF) Member Event: Made in Bergen - from the history of the modern current meter
22 September 2010 at 18:00-20:30, Aanderaa Data Instruments (AADI), Nesttun
Contact for more information: oyvind.breivik@met.no
Kystnæringskonferansen 2010
23.-24. September 2010, Leknes
Mer info: http://www.vestvagoy.kommune.no/index.php/aktuelt/987-kystnaeringskonferansen
Ocean Optics Conference
27 September– 1 October 2010, Anchorage, Alaska
More information: http://www.oceanopticsconference.org/
Deltas in Times of Climate Change
International conference 29 September– 2 October 2010, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands
More information: http://www.climatedeltaconference.org/templates/dispatcher.asp?page_id=25222734
3rd Annual International Scientific Conference on ”Energy and Climate Change”
7-8 October 2010, Athens, Greece
http://www.promitheasnet.kepa.uoa.gr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22%3Ascientific-conference-2010-october7-8-2010&catid=14%3Aconferences&Itemid=5&lang=en
Registration deadline: 30 September
EU/EØS-Programmet Offentlig Sektor 2010
Oslo, 14.-15. oktober 2010 (ettermiddag, kveld og formiddag), Brussel, 26.-29. oktober 2010 (3 dag med ankomst kvelden før).
Kurset har en egen tilleggsmodul i Brussel om forskning og høyere utdanning.
Programomtale og anbefalinger fra tidligere kursdeltakere: http://kjenneuropa.no/index.php/1254587
EurOCEAN 2010 Conference: Grand challenges for marine research in the next decade
12-13 October 2010, Thermae Palace, Oostende, Belgium
More information: http://www.eurocean2010.eu/
International Workshop on ENSO, Decadal Variability and Climate Change in South America
”Trends, Teleconnections and Potential Impacts.”
12-14 October 2010, Guayaquil, Ecuador
More information, registration and abstract submission: http://www.clivar.org/organization/pacific/meetings/enso/enso_2010.php
IMBER-IMBIZO II: Integrating biogeochemistry and ecosystems in a changing sea – Regional comparisons
10-14 October 2010, Crete (Greece)
More information: http://imbizo-2010.confmanager.com/main.cfm?cid=1683
Tip Bjerknes Times: charla.melander@uni.no
http://www.bjerknes.uib.no/pages.asp?kat=60&lang=1
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Northern Research Forum 6th Open Assembly: "Our Ice Dependent World."
24-27 October 2010, Oslo and Kirkenes, Norway
More information: http://www.nrf.is/index.php/young-researchers/call-for-participation-and-for-applications-from-young-researchers
International Polar Workshop: Seasonal, decadal and centennial predictability of polar climate
25-29 October 2010, Bergen, Norway
Workshop sponsored by World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), NFR, Bjerknes Centre and UiB.
Ph.D.-Course: Climate, Media and Politics
15-19 November 2010, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
More information: http://www.uib.no/course/MEVIPOL900
Deadline for applications and motivation letters: 15 October
Clivar International Workshop: New strategies for evaluating ENSO processes in climate models
17-19 November 2010, Paris France
More information: http://www.clivar.org/organization/pacific/meetings/enso_ipcc/enso_ipcc.php
American Geosciences Union (AGU) Fall meeting
13-17 December 2010, San Francisco, USA
More information: http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm10/
Arctic Frontiers (AFT)
23-29 January 2011, Tromsø, Norway
Call for papers and abstract submission – Scientific Section
Deadline for abstract submissions: 25 October 2010
More information: http://www.arcticfrontiers.com/
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
400 mill. kroner til forskningsinfrastruktur ( INFRASTRUKTUR )
Omfatter avansert vitenskapelig utstyr innen alle fagområder, eInfrastruktur, vitenskapelige databaser og samlinger, samt sentrale
utstyrsenheter i større, nasjonalt eller internasjonalt, sammensatte forskningsinfrastrukturer.
Søknadsfrist: 13. oktober 2010 13:00 CET
Mer informasjon: http://www.forskningsradet.no/no/Utlysning/INFRASTRUKTUR/1253959638814?WT.mc_id=nyhetsbrevForskningsradetNorsk
Utlysning for 2009-2010 (MILUTV-ARENAER)
Støtte til formidlingstiltak, nasjonal/internasjonal nettverksbygging og strategiske tiltak knyttet til miljø/utviklingsforskning, f.eks.
støtte til drift av sekretariater for internasjonale forskningsprogrammer, arrangementer til nasjonale/internasjonale konferanser,
publisering og evaluering.
Søknadsfrist: løpende
Mer informasjon: http://www.forskningsradet.no/no/Utlysning/MILUTVARENAER/1240958620978
Tip Bjerknes Times: charla.melander@uni.no
http://www.bjerknes.uib.no/pages.asp?kat=60&lang=1
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